Bowl Of Knowledge

Friday, August 17, 2012

The Bloop is just one of those mysterious events in history. There is enough evidence to prove that it happened but no sufficient explanation.

In 1977 scientists stationed at the U.S National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration stationed at the Pacific Ocean noticed something very peculiar. Their system of hydrophones (underwater microphones) picked up a low frequency but very loud signal. Now these scientists had monitored underwater earthquakes, moving glaciers, and whales but this noise was different. For one thing it was loud, enough in fact that another station with a hydrophone was able to hear the sound 3106 miles (5000 km) away. Another thing that made this very peculiar was the frequency of the sound was only similar but not quite the same as biological sources and too different from natural occurrences.

So where did the Bloop come from? Well, no one really knows. At first considered the biological origin theory but it’s several times louder than a blue whale which is the loudest known animal. To further add to the mystery scientists have found other unexplained sounds similar to the Bloop, all of which have baffled scientists.

What do you think it is? Listen to a video of the Bloop below and tell us what you think it is.

Monday, August 6, 2012

The Keplar mission is to find alien worlds and this is perhaps one of the strangest planets Keplar has ever found. The planet TrES-2b is the darkest planet that ever seen. How pitch black is this planet? Well it’s darker than coal so that should tell you something. This planet reflects practically no light (1%) from the star it orbits.

The way Keplar found this planet was also quite interesting. Planets are never observed directly, they are observed by effects they exhibit on their star. When TrES-2b passed in front of its star Keplar was able to monitor the slight change in light. Keplar was able to determine that it was a gas giant relative in size to Jupiter.

TrES-2b is definitely a strange planet. Darkness aside the planet is also extremely close to it’s star. At 1 million miles TrES-2b is also very close to its host star. To give you some perspective Mercury is 28.5 million miles from the sun. This distance coupled with the darkness makes TrES-2b extremely hot. The surface of the planet is 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (980 degrees Celsius). This intense heat also gives the black planet a reddish glow.

Perhaps the most interesting about TrES-2b is the cause of the planets color. Scientists think that it may be because of gases present in its atmosphere but they remain uncertain. As of now TrES-2b remains in the books as one of the most interesting exoplanets.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

While it isn't one of the biggest oil spills to have happened it definitely was one of the worst spills. Off the coast of Alaska the Exxon Valdez tanker hit a reef and spilled tonnes of oil all over the place. The Exxon Valdez only had half the crew of a normal tanker and had to work with inadequate technology on the ship. Due to the remoteness of the area it was extremely difficult for rescue workers and cleanup workers to get to the oil spill in the first place. By the time clean up crew could reach the area the wide array of wildlife was dead. It was considered the worst oil spill in the U.S until....

4. Deepwater Horizon

Location: Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi River Delta, United States 2010

Oil Spilled: 200,000-400,00 tonnes

You all probably know the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the infamous spill that destroyed the sea, fish, and BP. To be honest this oil spill is actually small compared to other oil spills, so why did it make this list? While it may not have been the absolute worst oil spill it definitely caused some serious damage. Whereas other oil spills occured in less populated areas, this occurred in the center of major fishing waters. Also different from other similar sized oil spills is the fact that oil washed up on the shore and killed animals there as well. So while it may have been one of the smaller oil spills it definitely caused a commotion in the Gulf of Mexico.

3. IXTOC1 Spill

Location: Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico 1980

Oil Spilled: 470,000 tonnes

The IXTOC1 spill (say that 3x times fast) was one of the many spills that happened in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexican company Pemex was drilling a deep oil well when the drilling ship suffered a blowout. The effects were disastrous with local fisherman tell stories of dead fish washing on shore while scientists report that 50% of the local fish and octopus population died off.

2.Gulf War Oil Spill

Location: Persian Gulf 1991

Oil Spilled: 1,090,000 tonnes

In 1991, during the Gulf War, lots of people did things they regretted. Iraqi forces opened up their valves and what resulted was the number two worst oil spill ever. American forces (thinking that they could shut the well) started bombing the valves which failed to shut the valve. Although the Persian gulf's temperature helped the oil evaporate faster it still hurt the diverse wildlife that lived in the area. And unlike the other spills on the list cleanup workers could not reach the area leaving an even more devastated area.

1. Lakeview Gusher

Location: Kern County, California 1910

Oil Spilled: 1,200,000 tonnes

Any place which had 1.2 million tonnes of oil dumped onto it is never going to be a pretty place. The story goes that the Lakeview Oil Company started drilling for oil in Kern County. What they intended to find was natural gas but what they didn't realize was that they were sitting on the largest reserve of oil in America. What they also didn't realize was that the well in question was over pressured from the amount of oil it contained. When Lakeview started drilling it burst this bubble and caused the above mentioned 1.2 million tonnes of oil to be dumped onto the land. The environment around Kern County was completely changed. The area around the site changed into a sea of caked oil. The spillage lasted 18 months but the effects can be seen even now 100 years later.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Blindness is unfortunately common , but it may not be for long. Researchers are using new technology to fix the eyes of people affected with blindness by installing a new chip into the eye. This super thin chip is only 3mm across and is packed with light sensors. Using a thin wire connected to the eye helps the damaged nerves process information. The chip along with the wire helps stimulate the nerves of the patient. The patient also wear a pair of specialized glasses which send the images to the chip where the brain next registers it. The new technology is not perfect, as it can only help patients who possessed some type of sight in the past and can only help patients recognize large objects.

Although this chip is only a prototype Bionic Vision Australia, the company behind the technology, is also working on a High Acuity version. This version will have 1024 electrodes as opposed to the 98 electrodes in the other version. The extra electrodes can help give a more detailed view to the patient.

Perhaps sometime in the future the technology will be perfected and blindness will be a thing of the past.